Coroner releases name of victim in deadly Bourbon County house fire

BOURBON COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) - The name of the person killed in a fire in Bourbon County has been released.

According to the coroner, the victim is 40-year-old Martin Crowley. The coroner says official positive identification will come after an autopsy on Friday.

The fire started early Thursday morning around 3 a.m. at a house on Millersburg Road, just outside of Paris. We’re told that when crews arrived on the scene the house was engulfed in flames.

Chief Lloyd Campbell says heavy winds in the area made it difficult for crews to fight the fire.

Crews began searching for occupants and setting up their plan of attack. Major Brent Wilson with the Bourbon County Sheriff’s Department told us they believe two people were inside when the fire started.

“Once they got here one subject was out of the house, but we do believe there was another subject in the house, and we are investigating at this time as a fatal fire,” Wilson said.

We’re told Crowley lived at the home with his parents. The coroner says Crowley’s mother was the other person inside the home at the time and she was able to escape the fire without injury.

We spoke with Rena Conklin, who knows the Crowleys and actually lived on the property for several years. She told us she came by to see the damage for herself because she just couldn’t believe it.

“It just breaks my heart because just to hear how tragically he died for somebody who was such a gentle soul,” Conklin said. “He couldn’t even hurt a fly. He really couldn’t.”

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

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